Batman: Caped Crusader Will Try To Do Everything Batman: The Animated Series Couldn’t

As DC fans wait for the return of Robert Pattinson and the introduction of a new Dark Knight in The Brave and the Bold, Batman: Caped Crusader will revive Gotham City’s hero in animated format, in a series that will seek to honor the 1992 cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, as well as possibly even besting it.

Originally planned for Max, the show has a great team behind it which includes names like Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Ed Brubaker, and has already secured two seasons on Prime Video, which will be its new home after the distribution agreement between Amazon Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery for DC Comics productions.

And while the Caped Crusader will be a kind of heir to Batman: The Animated Series, it will also go one step further than its predecessor. During his presentation at the Annecy Animation Festival (via Variety), Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Animation Peter Girardi anticipated that the new series will include things that they could not do with the previous one:

“It’s everything that Bruce Timm wanted to do in the original series but because it ran on a kid’s channel, he wasn’t able to do it. So this definitely skews older. It’s more of his complete vision.”

Even for having been broadcast on a children’s programming block (Fox Kids), Batman: The Animated Series presented a mature and often dark look at the character, something that in fact has managed to perpetuate until now and is still very present in the way Batman is portrayed both in cinema and television.

Related: How The Joker Still Holds Up as Batman’s Most Important Villain

What’s Batman: The Caped Crusader About?

The first thing to note is that while the series is in development right now, it won’t be part of James Gunn’s DCU, just as it won’t be related to the universe created by Matt Reeves even though the director is working on the project. Caped Crusader will be a standalone story, most likely within DC Studios’ Elseworlds imprint.

Although no plot details have been revealed, the series is expected to see The Dark Knight already established as Gotham’s vigilante, facing off against various villains and, most likely, his main nemesis, The Joker. It will also probably include the participation of some of Batman’s great allies like Robin or Batgirl.

Here’s the official description for Batman: Caped Crusader:

“Utilizing state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies available, this powerful creative partnership will once again reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters, and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.”

Considering the great moment that animated productions are experiencing, with movies like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, or series like Arcane trying new styles of animation, it is possible that Batman: Caped Crusader will also seek to break new barriers and present a unique style that distinguishes it from everything that has been done so far with the character.

Batman: Caped Crusader does not have a release date yet.